The First Prophecy
by Zoe Milex
Summary: It has been just three short years since the formation of the clans, but already trouble is brewing. A dark force is forming, and no cat can trust another. It is now that the first prophecy of the clans is sent.  Full summary inside  T for violence.
1. Alliances

**Full summary: **_It has been just three short years since the formation of the clans, but already trouble is brewing. A dark force is forming, and no cat can trust another. It is now that the first prophecy of the clans is sent: _'Seven deaths within the wall, all the time to find or fall. Nine to save and nine to end, find a way to find them'. _With a time limit on their heads, the medicine cats begin to try and find not only the traitors in their clans, but also the ones that can save them all._

**Thunderclan:**

**Leader: **Thornstar- Dark brown tom with dark green eyes

**Deputy: **Adderheart- A brown and black tom with dark blue eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Icepool- White she-cat with blue eyes-deaf in one ear

**Warriors:**

Sweetsong- Beautiful dappled tortoiseshell she cat with pretty blue eyes

_Apprentice: Falconpaw_

Stormheart- A pure black tom with white socks

_Apprentice: Mousepaw_

Shimmerpelt- Grey and black she-cat with bright blue eyes

Loudthunder- dark brown tabby tom with white stripes and yellow eyes

Darksky- small very dark gray, almost black she-cat with one white paw

_Apprentice: Vixenpaw_

Foxfang- ginger tom with ice blue eyes

_Apprentice: Maplepaw_

Flareheart- Dark ginger she-cat with very dark blue eyes

Sunstripe- White she-cat with a golden ear and blue eyes

Jackletail- gray-brown tom with black tipped tail and large ears

_Apprentice: Waterpaw_

**Apprentices:**

Vixenpaw- A slender she-cat with usually ruffled bright ginger fur. She has unusual white tiger-like markings on her face, an extremely fluffy tail and midnight blue eyes. She has several scars all over her pelt.

Maplepaw- Golden brown she-cat with warm brown eyes

Falconpaw- Dark brown tom with dark blue eyes

Mousepaw- Brown she-cat with blue eyes

Waterpaw- Pretty silver and gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Queens:**

Ravensong- Short gray tabby she-cat (mother of Stormheart's kits: Snowkit, Ashkit, Jumpkit and Heatherkit)

Windfeather- brown she-cat with white stripes (Mother of Jackletail's kits: Rosekit and Squirrelkit)

**Kits:**

Snowkit- A pure white she-cat with big red eyes (Albino)

Ashkit- A black tom with some gray streaks

Jumpkit- A darker gray tabby tom

Heatherkit- A black she-cat

Viperkit- A muscular, well-built light brown tabby tom with big green eyes

Rosekit- creamy brown she-cat with blue eyes

Squirrelkit- gray-brown tom with a fluffy tail

**Elders:**

Swoopinghawk- Dark brown tom with green eyes

Mothflight- light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Shadowclan:**

**Leader: **Badgerstar- Black and white tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice:** Fallenpaw

**Deputy: **Ivythorn- Dark brown tabby she-cat with black stripes and amber eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Moonbreeze- A white she-cat with silver stripes and a silver ringed tail and pale blue eyes

**Warriors:**

Russetfang- Dark ginger tabby tom with dark amber eyes

_Apprentice: Jupinerpaw_

Darkclaw- Black tom with blue eyes

Dawnheart- Very dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Thistlestrike- Golden brown tabby w/brown patches and golden eyes

_Apprentice: Blazingpaw_

Lightningstreak- pale gray she-cat with white stripes and green eyes

Quickfoot- dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Apprentice: Echopaw_

Stonefang- A dark grey tom with white and light grey splotches and pale blue eyes

_Apprentice: Splashpaw_

Liontail- golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Apprentices:**

Blazingpaw- A light brown she-cat with black tabby stripes and dark blue eyes

Splashpaw- Small brown tabby she-cat with a limp

Fallenpaw- Simple gray tabby tom w/sky blue eyes

Jupinerpaw- light brown tom with long legs and gray eyes

Echopaw- A light grey she-cat with dark grey with white splotches all over her body deep blue eyes

**Queens:**

Spottedflower- Pretty pale ginger she-cat w/cream dapples and leaf green eyes (Mother of Thistlestrike's kits: Honeykit, Berrykit, Cherrykit and Mintkit)

**Kits:**

Honeykit- Pretty,lithe she-cat w/golden brown and regular brown fur that gleams in the light; her eyes are a pretty mix of green and golden shimmers

Cherrykit- Fuzzy ginger tom w/green eyes that stand out against his fur

Mintkit- Light brown tabby she-cat w/bright green eyes and a long tail

Berrykit- Light brown tabby tom w/golden eyes and paws that are too big 4 him

**Elders:**

Longfeather- Shaggy dark brown tom

Sageflower- beautiful light brown tabby with amber eyes

**Windclan:**

**Leader: **Duststar- Brown she-cat with white stripes and dark grey eyes

**Deputy: **Mossstone- a grey she-cat with big grey eyes

_Apprentice: Wolfpaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Leafpetal- Light brown she-cat with darker tabby stripes and green eyes

**Warriors:**

Gorselight- Light brown she-cat with darker brown paws and green eyes

Rainstorm- Dark grey tom with lighter streaks and golden eyes

_Apprentice: Heatherpaw_

Iceheart- White she-cat with icy blue eyes

Crowflight- Black tom with green eyes and scar across his face

Smoketail- Black tom with a grey tail and light grey eyes

_Apprentice: Riverpaw_

Pidgeonfeather- fluffy pale gray she-cat with green eyes

_Apprentice: Smokepaw_

Forestspots- tortoiseshell she-cat with dark green eyes

Breezefur- gray-black tom

Bluefire- blue-gray with blue eyes

_Apprentice: Eaglepaw_

**Apprentices:**

Riverpaw- Pale brown she-cat with blue-grey patches

Wolfpaw- Light grey/white she-cat w/ emerald eyes and long scar along flank

Eaglepaw- dark brownish/grey tom

Heatherpaw- light brown/grey she-cat

Smokepaw- Black tom with green eyes

**Queens:**

Cinderstream- Gray almost silver she-cat with pretty green eyes (Mother of Crowflight's kits: Darkkit and Moonkit)

Beechpelt- Light brown she-cat with misty blue eyes (Mother of Smoketail's kit: Rustlekit)

Sparrowjump- Dark brown she-cat with white paws and grey eyes (Expecting Redtail's kits)

**Kits:**

Darkkit- Black she-cat with blue eyes

Moonkit- White tom with amber eyes

Rustlekit- Brown she-cat with grey/blue eyes

Wildkit- Pretty brown she cat with one blue eye and one green eye

Stormkit- pretty gray she cat with amber eyes

**Elders:**

Flamesong- very bright ginger she-cat with one black stripe at the middle of her tail

Falconheart- small dark brown tom with blue eyes

**Riverclan:**

**Leader: **Swirlstar- White she-cat with grey swirls and grey eyes

**Deputy: **Driftfur- Brown tom with amber eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Snowflower- White and grey she-cat with amber eyes

**::Apprentice::** Streampaw- Black she-cat with silver tipped fur and dark blue eyes

**Warriors:**

Streampebble- Pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

_Apprentice: Vinepaw_

Icepath- Black she-cat with white paws, tail-tip and muzzle with ice-blue eyes

_Apprentice: Whitepaw_

Jayfur- Sleek grey tom with black paws, chest, belly tail with dark blue eyes

Eaglefall- Brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Mossheart- Black she-cat with mossy green eyes

_Apprentice: Rosepaw_

Appleflight- A cream and ginger tom with amber eyes

Fogfur- spotted pale gray tom with blue-green eyes

_Apprentice: Pebblepaw_

Stormspark- Large blue grey tom with startling yellow eyes and a claw scar on his left front shoulder

Yarrowleaf- A light ginger she-cat with bright green eyes

**Apprentices:**

Pebblepaw- Soft grey she-cat with wide deep blue eyes

Whitepaw- White she-cat with a silver tummy and light blue eyes

Rosepaw- Ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Vinepaw- Dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes

**Queens:**

Lilypool- White she-cat with deep blue eyes (mother of Driftfur's kits: Mistkit and Rushkit)

**Kits:**

Mistkit- Small grey tabby she-cat with light amber eyes

Rushkit- Black and white tabby tom with dark amber eyes

Pollenkit- A fluffy cream colored tom with gold flecks on his face and amber eyes

Bubblekit- A grey she-cat with white spots and blue eyes

**Elders:**

Peachbranch- smoky gray tom with white belly and paws

Badgerheart- large white tom with black patches

**Loners/ Rogues:**

Tumble- Small adorable tom with pure fluffy white fur

Rosaline- Slim brown and white she-cat

Wanderer- Small pure-white she-cat w/blind silver eyes

Foam- A grey and white dappled she-cat with blue eyes

Whisper- Dark gray she-cat with blue eyes


	2. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Icepool appeared shaken when she stumbled into the Thornstar's den.

"Icepool, are you alright?" Adderheart looked up, worried.

Icepool smiled weakly at the Thunderclan deputy. "I'm alright, thanks. Where's Thornstar?"

Adderheart shrugged. "He stepped out a while ago. I'm really not sure why… could I be of assistance?"

Icepool smiled at the young tom. "Thank you, but no. Thornstar needs to hear this."

As if hearing his name, Thornstar stepped into the den. "Icepool? What brings you here?"

The white she-cat jumped, as the leader had approached her on her deaf side. "Oh! Thornstar, I didn't notice you come in! Well, I had a dream from Starclan."

Thornstar frowned. "A dream from Starclan? Without going to the Moonstone?"

Icepool nodded. "And I think that you'll want to hear about it."

* * *

><p>Mossstone was knocked over by Leafpetal, who came barreling into the leader's den without preamble.<p>

"Leafpetal? What is it?" Duststar looked up at her medicine cat with what could be surprise.

"A message. From Starclan." Leafpetal mewed urgently.

Mossstone frowned. "But Starclan has never come to you before, have they? I thought the only way to contact them is to go to the Moonstone."

The brown and white leader of Windclan nodded. "That was my impression as well." She mewed. "Well, what did Starclan say, Leafpetal?"

The medicine cat took a breath before reciting "_Seven deaths within the wall, all the time to find or fall. Nine to save and nine to end, find a way to find them_."

Duststar frowned. "What does that mean?"

Leafpetal flicked her tail tip nervously. "Nothing good, I can assure you of that." She stared ominously.

* * *

><p><p>

Swirlstar was perplexed. "But what does it mean?" She mewed, half to herself and half to the other two cats in the den.

Snowflower shrugged. "Well, I did have an idea… but it could mean anything." She said quietly.

Driftfur purred slightly, half-annoyed and half-amused. "Snowflower, you shouldn't second-guess yourself all the time. What was your idea?"

Snowflower looked awkwardly at her paws. "Well, since it said 'nine to save' I think that could mean that there are nine cats currently in the clans that could help defeat whatever Starclan is talking about."

Driftfur nodded slowly. "But that would mean…"

Swirlstar finished his sentence with a flat tone that did not fit the mood. "That would mean that nine cats are also around that will destroy the clans." She mewed.

* * *

><p><p>

"What about the other part?" Ivythorn said, recovering faster than her leader. "The part about seven deaths?" She gently prodded the young Shadowclan leader out of his trance.

"Yeah, what about that?" Badgerstar asked shakily. "Please tell me the deaths are metaphorical."

Moonbreeze quietly shook her head. "I'm afraid not. That part did give me some trouble, but I've concluded that the 'deaths' are exactly that."

"Well, what does it mean?" Badgerstar said nervously. He didn't like the idea of his warriors dying.

"It means that the nine traitorous cats will begin killing other clan cats." Ivythorn said. "Am I right so far?"

Moonbreeze nodded, gesturing for the deputy to continue.

Encouraged, Ivythorn pushed on. "And once they manage to kill seven cats, then the clans are lost." She suddenly realized exactly what she said, and her triumphant smile vanished.

Moonbreeze took in a shaky breath. "So," She mewed. "I guess we have to try and find all nine of the saviors before seven cats die."

"No pressure." Ivythorn sighed.


	3. Chapter 1: Riverclan

**Chapter 1**

Whitepaw sat patiently, her slim white paw poised elegantly over the river.

Beside her, Yarrowleaf was practically vibrating with impatience.

"Come on, come on!" the young warrior complained under her breath.

Whitepaw grinned. Yarrowleaf was the least patient cat in the entire forest. The ginger warrior could never seem to do one thing for longer than a few heart beats before needing to move on to something else.

On Whitepaw's other side, Rosepaw was crouched, her eyes glued to the water, unblinking.

Suddenly, the other apprentice's claws flashed out and she snagged a large silver fish up out of the water.

Another cat approached the three hunters, attracted by the noise. "Well done Rosepaw!" Mossheart purred to her apprentice.

Rosepaw sat up a bit straighter, clearly proud of herself.

From the other side of the river, the fifth member of the patrol snatched up another fish, and then leapt nimbly across the stepping stones, carrying her catch.

"We should head back." Icepath decided, placing her prey down in order to be heard. "It's nearly sun high, and the elders are going to get grumpy." She spoke briskly, gesturing with her tail for the others to gather their catches.

Whitepaw picked up her two little fish, as well as the small one that Rosepaw caught earlier, as the ginger apprentice could barely hold the giant fish she had caught, and followed her mentor.

Once back at camp, Whitepaw settled beside Rosepaw near the apprentice den, and the two she-cats shared a fish.

"Did you see the size of it? I can't believe that there's even a fish _like_ that in our river, not to mention that I actually _caught_ it!"

Whitepaw laughed. "Don't be so shocked, Rosepaw." She purred to her friend. "Everyone knows that you're shaping up to be one of the best hunters in the clan!"

"I do hope you're talking about me." A teasing voice broke into their conversation.

Whitepaw glanced over her shoulder to see another apprentice approaching them.

"Hi Pebblepaw!" Rosepaw greeted her through a mouthful of fish.

Whitepaw nodded to her sister as the grey apprentice joined them.

"So you guys were out hunting?" Whitepaw heard a trace of envy in her sister's mew.

"Yep! And guess what I caught." Rosepaw launched into her story about the giant fish.

Whitepaw, however, was more interested in a cobweb on Pebblepaw's shoulder.

"What happened?" She asked, gesturing to the wound.

Pebblepaw curled her lip. "I had battle training with Vinepaw." She said flatly, ending the topic as quickly as it had begun.

Rosepaw winced and Whitepaw rubbed up against her sister's side. Vinepaw was Rosepaw's sister, and she was… an interesting character, to say the least. Vinepaw had a hard time knowing when to draw the line in a fight.

"Poor Streampebble." Rosepaw mewed quietly.

Whitepaw nodded. Streampebble was one of the nicest cats in the camp, and she had been saddled with the task of making Vinepaw sane. While Whitepaw saw the wisdom in this, she still felt bad for the silver tabby.

"Hey guys, what's with the long faces?"

Whitepaw shifted uncomfortably as the bouncy golden kit bounded up to them. "Hi Pollenkit."

Whitepaw never knew how to act around the hyper little tom. He was the half-clan son of the warrior Appleflight, who had basically disowned Pollenkit and his sister, Bubblekit, and a rouge female named Foam. All the other warriors tended to avoid the two kits, but Whitepaw didn't see why. Pollenkit seemed nice enough, if a bit annoying.

"We were talking about things that don't concern you." Pebblepaw told him shortly. "Now why don't you go play with the other kits?" Pebblepaw had decided to follow the rest of the clan's lead in their treatment of the half-clan kit.

Pollenkit's tail drooped. "Okay." He turned around and slunk back to the nursery.

Rosepaw watched him go, surprised. "Does he always just leave for you?" She asked her friend in awe. "He's usually so persistent!"

Pebblepaw looked surprised. "Really? He always listens to me."

Whitepaw tuned out their conversation and scanned the camp idly. She saw Mossheart sharing tongues with Fogfur and Eaglefall, and Icepath was sitting quietly with her brother Jayfur.

"Yarrowleaf and Stormspark need to get a move on." Pebblepaw's amused comment caught Whitepaw's attention.

"What?" She asked, confused, but then noticed the excitable warrior with the slightly older gray tom. She saw what her sister meant. The two cats were obviously smitten.

Whitepaw purred. "Looks like there's going to be an addition to the nursery." She noted happily.

The three she-cats continued talking for a while until Whitepaw became aware of a presence nearby.

She looked up. "Oh, hello Streampaw!" She smiled brightly at her other sister.

The medicine cat apprentice smiled shyly at them. "Hi Whitepaw."

"Sit down, grab a fish!" Rosepaw invited, but Streampaw politely declined.

"Have you seen Driftfur?" She asked.

Her sisters shook their heads, but Rosepaw looked thoughtful. "Didn't he go out with Appleflight and Eaglefall?" She offered.

Streampaw became agitated. "So he isn't in camp?"

Rosepaw shrugged. "I don't know for sure." She mewed. "I mean, he might still be around. Why?"

Streampaw didn't respond, but instead hurried over to her mentor, Snowflower, and spoke to her urgently.

The medicine cat frowned and hurried to the leader's den.

"What do you think is happening?" Pebblepaw mused, watching the short scene with interest.

Whitepaw frowned. "I don't know." She said. "But it looks serious."

"It is."

"We just keep getting interrupted, don't we?" Rosepaw purred, looking up at the gray and black tom that had come up behind them.

"Sorry." Jayfur mewed, flicking his tail in amusement.

Whitepaw looked back and forth between apprentice and warrior, and felt a tiny smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Hello Jayfur. What do you mean it is?"

Jayfur blinked and glanced over at Whitepaw, seeming to come out of a trance. "Oh! Well, haven't you noticed that Swirlstar has been rather tense lately? I mean," He chuckled. "More than usual."

Whitepaw nodded thoughtfully. "I guess that's true. Well, I'm sure Swirlstar can take care of it. She's the best leader in the forest, after all."

With and amused mew of agreement, Jayfur padded to the warriors' den.

Pebblepaw stood and stretched. "Well, Rosepaw, looks like you'll be moving to the nursery with Yarrowleaf!"

Rosepaw blushed. "What? No! What gives you that idea?"

"Well Jayfur obviously _crazy_ about you…" Pebblepaw grinned, nudging her friend suggestively.

Whitepaw left Rosepaw spluttering out a denial and went to find her mentor.

"Icepath!"

The white she-cat turned to regard her apprentice bouncing towards her. "Yes?"

"Can we train some more before moonrise?" Whitepaw begged.

Icepath frowned. "Well, Driftfur asked me to go on patrol… I guess you could come."

Whitepaw sighed. Icepath didn't seem to notice her existence half of the time. "Who else is on the patrol?" She asked, falling into step beside her mentor.

Icepath glanced around the camp, seemingly unsure. "Jayfur and Stormspark." She decided, padding over to the two toms with Whitepaw close behind.

Stormspark had heard the white warrior. "Dusk patrol?" He guessed, standing and stretching.

Icepath merely nodded.

Jayfur stood as well. "Actually sis, I've been on two patrols already today. Maybe you could take Streampebble? She's been stuck in camp since Vinepaw attacked Pebblepaw during practice."

Icepath frowned, but reluctantly agreed.

As the five cats headed out, Whitepaw glanced towards the leaders den once more. The tip of Driftfur's tail was just disappearing into it, and the young apprentice got the distinct feeling that the secretive going-ons were a lot more serious than anyone thought.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this! My computer crashed a day or so after I posted the prologue, and I lost _everything_. :( Anyway, here's the first chapter! I'm not sure that I like it much, since I had trouble getting into the characters' heads. Anyway, what clan should I do next?**

**ZoeM**


	4. Chapter 2: Shadowclan

_**I just realized that I haven't been saying this, but I don't own warriors :(**_

**Chapter 2**

"Hurry up!"

Splashpaw sighed as she padded to the camp entrance where Blazingpaw and Fallenpaw were already perched with all three mentors.

"Honestly, why you want to be a warrior…" Fallenpaw shook his head, mystified.

Blazingpaw frowned at him, but didn't disagree.

Thistlestrike also frowned at Fallenpaw. "You shouldn't say things like that." He mewed. "Splashpaw is trying twice as hard as the rest of you."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to point it out." The female apprentice grumbled. "Let's just go."

Blazingpaw sighed. Whenever Fallenpaw and Splashpaw trained together, things never went well. It wasn't because Fallenpaw was purposefully rude, as far as his other female denmate could see, but that he just didn't realize that what he said upset Splashpaw.

The six cats made their way precariously across the marshy Shadowclan territory towards the training grounds with Fallenpaw out front, followed closely by Lightningstreak. Thistlestrike, Blazingpaw and Stonefang followed them in no particular order, and Splashpaw limped behind them.

Once at the training grounds, Thistlestrike took charge. "Okay, Fallenpaw, have a mock battle with Blazingpaw, but no claws please. Lightningstreak, if you could monitor them to see how they're coming along. Stonefang, you and I will work with Splashpaw…"

"No way!" Splashpaw interrupted. "I refuse to be the exception! I've never even HAD a mock battle, not even as a kit!" She glared at the warriors, daring them to disagree.

Fallenpaw blinked, and then stepped forward. "I'll do a mock battle with her." He offered. "I already know all of Blazingpaw's moves anyway."

Blazingpaw glared at him from behind, but said nothing.

Thistlestrike took this turn of events in stride. "Alright then, Fallenpaw, Splashpaw, you two can mock battle. Blazingpaw can work with me and Stonefang."

Stonefang shrugged in agreement, and Lightningstreak gave a short wave of her tail to show her support as well.

Fallenpaw turned to Splashpaw. "Alright then. I'm guessing you don't want me to go easy on you?"

Splashpaw hissed and lunged at him.

Fallenpaw darted under her paws and tried to trip her up, but she evaded him. The two circled each other, sizing the other one up.

Splashpaw didn't like what she saw. Fallenpaw seemed cool and collected, like he had an ace hidden is his deck and was ready to pull it out at any moment.

Fallenpaw was actually worrying a little behind his façade. Splashpaw was better than he had thought she would be, what with her limp and all.

And Blazingpaw was watching the whole scene, a bit disgruntled. She didn't like that she had been the one pushed out this time. She took her anger out on Stonefang, lunging at him with as much force as her lithe form could muster.

By sun-high, both Splashpaw and Fallenpaw were tiring, but neither was giving any ground. Lightningstreak had retired to the shade of the trees to escape the rising heat, and Stonefang had joined her in order to watch his apprentice and see where she had trouble.

Blazingpaw gazed sourly over at the two apprentices, and was caught off guard by her mentor.

Thistlestrike paused. "What's wrong, Blazingpaw?" He asked, worried. "That's the first time you've slipped in days."

Blazingpaw shook her head and quickly apologized, professing that it was nothing.

The three apprentices continued the session until the light scattering of trees hid the sun.

"Alright, this has gone on long enough." Stonefang decided, stepping between Splashpaw and Fallenpaw.

The latter blinked, panting, and the former muttered a faint agreement, also breathing hard.

Thistlestrike and Blazingpaw padded over to the others, and Lightningstreak bounced to her feet, eager to get back to camp.

As the six entered, they found the camp in slight disarray.

Thistlestrike frowned. "What's going on?" He asked the nearest warrior he could find.

Dawnheart looked up at the golden-eyed tom and shrugged. "Badgerstar called a meeting." She mewed simply.

Thistlestrike nodded and thanked her.

Splashpaw looked around, bored. It was quite like Badgerstar to call a random meeting.

"So do you want to ditch?"

The familiar voice of her father brought a flutter of happiness into Splashpaw's chest. "Hi dad!"

Longfeather purred. "So do you want to? Badgerstar never has anything interesting to say."

"Dad!" Splashpaw protested, shoving him lightly.

The dark brown tom shrugged. "I'm just saying…"

"You shouldn't be saying anything." A voice grumbled from behind them. "If you're to old to take care of yourself, then you have no right to be bossing others around."

Splashpaw groaned before turning to face the newcomer. "What do you want Darkclaw?"

The black tom flicked his tail but didn't respond, choosing instead to go and sit by his only friend, Russetfang.

"Two peas in a pod, them." Longfeather flicked his tail towards the backs of the warriors. "They like fighting to much to be natural."

Splashpaw mumbled a response and turned to face the leader.

Badgerstar jumped nimbly up onto the boulder used for clan meetings, and he turned to face his warriors.

"As some of you may have noticed, Moonbreeze, Ivythorn and I have been keeping conference in my den for a few moons. I have heard the rumors spreading around the camp that Moonbreeze and I are mates, and I wanted to clear the air of that." The leader seemed awkward here, but he pressed on. "I love Moonbreeze only as a friend, and it is against her code to have a mate. You do not need to worry about what we are discussing. We will have it figured out, I promise."

Longfeather snorted. "Sure, and hedgehogs will fly."

Splashpaw looked at her father incredulously. "Hedgehogs?"

The elder shrugged. "What can I say?" He laughed. "I like hedgehogs."

Splashpaw chuckled as the meeting ended, and she padded away from her mentor.

"Splashpaw."

She spun to see Fallenpaw behind her. "What do you want?" She snapped.

Fallenpaw was not deterred. "You were good earlier."

Splashpaw blinked, caught off guard by the usually stony tom's praise. "Um… thanks, I guess." She mewed uncertainly. "You too."

Fallenpaw nodded and turned away.

"A friend of yours?" He father winked teasingly.

"Dad!"

Fallenpaw watched the two arguing and suppressed a sigh. _Even the cripple has more friends than me._ He noted somewhat bitterly.

"Hey Fallenpaw." A nervous voice sounded behind him.

He turned and regarded the gray and white she-cat who had come up behind him. "Hi. What do you want?" He didn't say it meanly, but he didn't have time to deal with Echopaw's awkward shyness right now.

Echopaw flinched back. "Sorry." She mumbled, turning away.

Fallenpaw shrugged and continued towards the apprentice den. Echopaw was nice enough, but she seemed to have convinced herself that she was a no-good half-clan cat and acted like everyone was better than her. It was actually kind of annoying.

"Hey, Fallenpaw!"

Fallenpaw suppressed a groan. "Yes Mintkit?"

The little brown tabby bounced up to him happily, not noticing the annoyance in the apprentice's tone. "I heard about your fight with Splashpaw! It's…" She stopped here, trying to form a word. "Pa… pat… patieic!" She said proudly, and then frowned. "No, that's not it…"

The little she-kit continued her thinking and wandered off.

Fallenpaw couldn't help smiling. Mintkit was annoying, but in a cute kind of way. Fallenpaw was not intercepted again and he flopped over into his nest, exhausted, and yet somehow happy.

Badgerstar watched his apprentice quietly from nearby.

Ivythorn came up beside him. "You know, you should take more responsibility for his training." She mewed.

"But the prophecy…"

"Forget about that for a moment, okay? When I first became your deputy, you told me that you would make life in this clan a better one. That means helping all your cats individually and as a whole." The black and brown tabby reminded him.

Badgerstar sighed. "I know. I just… I'm worried that if I get to close to anyone right now that they'll be hurt."

Ivythorn sighed. "I know. I feel the same. Just… think about it, okay?"

Badgerstar sighed as his deputy walked away. Why couldn't things ever be easy?

**A/N: Hi guys! I didn't edit this chapter, so if you see something please tell me :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I'm planning to do a Windclan/Rouge chapter next and then a Thunderclan. And for the people from my create-a-cat: if your cat was introduced by Fallenpaw and seemed OOC, that's because he's in a bad mood.**

**If anyone can guess what Mintkit was trying to say, you get a cookie! And if you can guess who told her to say that you get a plushie of the character of your choice!**

**ZoeM**


	5. Chapter 3: Thunderclan

**Chapter Three:**

The little white she-cat stared curiously at the pile of leaves in front of her. "What do these do?" She asked, poking one of them and causing the whole pile to collapse.

Icepool looked over at the scattered herbs, struggling to hold in a sigh of exasperation. "Those are yarrow leaves, and it took me hours to arrange them." She told the excitable little kit.

Snowkit cocked her head. "So… they're the ones that make you spew yuck out of your mouth, right?"

Icepool chuckled, her annoyance melting slightly. "Yes, that would be yarrow. Now could you restack it please?"

Vixenpaw watched the exchange with interest. Snowkit was always getting herself into troubling situations, but the kit was so adorable that she never actually got into trouble. Vixenpaw couldn't help but admire her for it. Whenever she herself was loud or annoying, she was often chewed out in front of the whole camp.

"Hey, Vixenpaw. Darksky is looking for you."

Vixenpaw jumped at the sound of her denmate's voice. "Oh, alright Maplepaw. I'll go find her."

Maplepaw nodded, shifting her paws awkwardly. "So… how's training going?" The golden brown she-cat asked awkwardly.

Vixenpaw was surprised at this sudden show of interest. "Er… it's fine. Darksky is a bit jumpy when we're doing our mock battles, but she's a good mentor overall. How's Foxfang?"

Maplepaw shrugged. "Well, he's… um…"

"A sadistic idiot?" Vixenpaw offered boldly.

Maplepaw purred. "Yep, pretty much." Suddenly her ears twitched. "Speak of the devil…"

"Maplepaw! We're going hunting! Get over here!"

Maplepaw rolled her eyes at Vixenpaw and raced off, calling, "Coming Foxfang!"

Vixenpaw watched the little golden-brown apprentice run off, and then turned to search for her own mentor.

She found Darksky by the warriors' den, talking breathlessly to Loudthunder.

"Hey Darksky. I heard you were looking for me." Vixenpaw mewed, trotting up to the young warrior.

Darksky jumped, and then laughed. "Yeah, I was. I was thinking that we could get some battle training in today, and maybe discuss an assessment for tomorrow." She mewed.

Vixenpaw nodded. "Sounds good. Are you going to be training with us Loudthunder?" She asked politely.

The brown tabby shook his head. "No, Darksky was asking if I'd seen you anywhere." He explained, amused.

"What are you talking about?"

Vixenpaw turned to see Jumpkit and Heatherkit standing nearby.

"Nothing much. Darksky and I were just going to go do some battle training."

Jumpkit purred. "Sounds fun." He mewed. "And have you seen Snowkit? Mom is looking for her."

Vixenpaw nodded and pointed towards the medicine cat's den, where she had last seen the excitable little kit.

"Thanks Vixenpaw!" Jumpkit mewed, trotting off in the indicated direction with his sister scampering behind.

Vixenpaw smiled after him. Jumpkit had always been nice to her, even when the other apprentices ignored her.

"Alright, why don't we grab Stormheart and Mousepaw for our training session?" Darksky decided, nodding farewell to Loudthunder and trotting towards the warriors' den.

Vixenpaw hurried after her, frowning slightly. Mousepaw was one of the most annoying cats in the camp. She was always bossing everyone around, and acting superior just because her father was the clan leader.

"Stormheart! You up for some training today?" Darksky greeted her senior cheerfully.

The black tom glanced up and smiled. "Sounds good to me." He turned towards the apprentices' den. "Mousepaw! Training!"

The snooty brown she-cat strutted out of the den. "Fine." She sighed reluctantly, striding over to the group. "I guess I can spare some time for you."

Vixenpaw rolled her eyes. This was going to be a _long_ afternoon.

* * *

><p>"Hey Vixenpaw, how was training?"<p>

Vixenpaw was again taken off-guard by Maplepaw's friendly greeting. "Um, fine." She mewed awkwardly. "I mean, it was with Mousepaw, so it…" She suddenly remembered that Maplepaw and Mousepaw were siblings.

"Was boring and obnoxious?" Maplepaw offered the ending of the sentence. "Yeah, I can't stand my sister. She's so… annoying."

Vixenpaw purred. "Agreed. How was hunting with Foxfang?"

"Unbearable." Maplepaw moaned. "Falconpaw and Sweetsong were there too."

Vixenpaw winced. "Ouch."

Falconpaw was very grouchy and generally no fun to be around. Sweetsong was rather air-headed and almost as self-obsessed as Mousepaw. Why Thornstar had thought it would be a good idea to put those two together, Vixenpaw had no idea.

"Want to grab something to eat?" Maplepaw offered.

Vixenpaw shrugged. "Sure. Where do you want to sit?"

The two she-cats ended up crouched in the shade of a pine tree, complaining about their mentors and laughing together when Snowkit fell over a tree root and knocked over three or four warriors like dominoes.

Vixenpaw was surprised at how easy talking to Maplepaw was. After being thrust aside as 'that orphan Halfling' her whole life, she would have thought this would be hard.

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!"

Vixenpaw bolted to her feet, as did every other cat. A fire? How could…

"DIE MOUSEY, DIE!"

_Well that explains it_.

A dark ginger she-cat was spinning in circles, alternately screaming, "FIRE!" and "DIE MOUSEY, DIE!" at the top of her lungs. Stormheart, Jackletail and Sunstripe were fighting to calm the wild cat down.

Vixenpaw sighed. "I don't get how she ever became a warrior."

Maplepaw shrugged. "It is what it is. Personally, though, I'm just surprised she survived that fall."

The cat in question was Flareheart, a younger warrior with severe mental problems. She had fallen off the high rock while exploring the camp with her brother, Ivykit. Ivykit had been killed on impact, but Flareheart had pulled through after being unconscious for nearly a moon. She had seemed all right for a few days, if oddly silent. But on the fourth day of her return to the living, she began screaming her brother's name over and over for no reason, and stopped just as suddenly, continuing on as if nothing had happened.

It was at this point that the clan realized the fall had scrambled her brains.

Pretty soon, the pretty ginger she-cat was calm again, and returned to chewing aimlessly on her mole.

"I kind of feel bad for her." Maplepaw sighed. "I can't imagine what it's like in her head."

Vixenpaw shrugged. "It is what it is."

Maplepaw laughed. "Well, I'm on dawn patrol, so I'm going to turn in." She mewed, standing up and stretching. "See you tomorrow Vixenpaw."

Vixenpaw smiled slightly. "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

**A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter. Writing for the Thunderclan cats was harder than expected. Well, I'll be doing Windclan next, which will include the loners as well, so it should be a bit longer than this :)**

**Anyway, tell me what you think!**


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